Footwear



April 24, 1956 A. E. MURRAY FOOTWEAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 9. 1955 INVENTOR Alan 1'7. Murra ATTORNEY April 24, 1956 A. E. MURRAY FOOTWEAR IS Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9. 1953 INVENTOR Murray ATTORNEY Alan E.

A. E. MURRAY April 24, 1956 FOOTWEAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed 001;. 9. 1953 R o T N E v m Alan E. Mu; I

ATTO

- United States Patent FOOTWEAR Alan E. Murray, New York, N. Y.

- Application October 9, 1953, Serial No. 385,094 3 Claims. (Cl. 36-85) My invention relates particularly to footwear, including shoes, sandals and elements thereof, etc., of an advantageous and more effective character.

An object of my invention is to provide footwear which not only fit the particular feet on which they are made to be worn, but which are more compatible with the inherent natural characteristics of the feet before distortion 'or deformation thereof due to wearing] arbitrary forms of footwear not made to fit the particular feet. Thus, one of the objects of my invention is to provide footwear for preventing and correcting deformities of the feet.

I have found that when the foot from very early childhood has worn only footwear made to fit accurately the detailed contours of the soft tissues of the foot, the said foot will preserve and retain an underneath concave shape with a high arch, both longitudinally and transversely, the characteristics of which would otherwise be destroyed partly or entirely by constant use of the foot in non-conforming ill-fitting shoes, or due to constant walking on fiat or approximately fiat shoe surfaces. I

have discovered, furthermore, that there is a natural overall curvature or concavity which is most comfortable to and therefore compatible with the plantar or underneath shape of the foot in the case of substantially all feet in their natural shape, and that when shoes are made with the aid of such concavity for the particular foot, the shoes thus made are more capable of aiding the feet in retaining and assuming the natural shape of'the foot as unchanged or unspoiled by incorrect footwear. I have, furthermore, found that the encouragement of the foot in this way to maintain its natural shape and characteristics, by preventing and correcting deformities of the feet; is aided and made feasible by the experience in connection with my previous footwear directed to maintaining the natural conformation of the soft tissues of the foot.

- In carrying out my invention 1, thus, utilize fundamentally the law of non-interference with the foot con tours, to which I may apply a corrective by building the shoe while the bottom of the foot assumes a concave positioncompatible with the natural concavity or dome shape which is conformable to, that is to say most comfortable to, the general shape of the plantar surface of the foot. My invention, thus, provides for shoe making manifold accomplishments previously unattainable there in, comparable to orthodontics or orthodontis'try for du plicating the shape and position of the teeth in nature, by obviating and correcting deformities of .the teeth.

Another object is, therefore, to accomplish these purposes in order to provide shoes which do, in fact, preserve the natural conformation and characteristics of the particular feet for which the shoes are made.

Still another object is to provide a shoe upper and sidewalls conforming to the individual contours of the particular feet for which the'footwear is made.

Further objects of my invention will appearfrom the detailed description of the same hereinafter.

"ice

While my invention is capable of embodiment in many different ways, for the purpose of illustration I have described in detail only certain examples thereof hereinafter and have shown in the drawings" only certain 'embodiments in connection therewith, in which'' Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a left foot shoe made in accordance with my inventionywhich also exemplifies the corresponding right shoe construction; I

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a dome or convex surface on a square plate, showing an example of'a position or placement of the two feet thereon, on which the shoes or other footwear are made; i

Fig. 3 is a plan view of two pieces of'felt from which underneath pieces are cut out for said feet;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a heel piece applied to the foot in the making of the shoe; f

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the felt cover the leather piece of the upper of the shoe;

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the completed left shoe indicating thereon the position of the rear ends of the cover pieces; t

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of the front part of the completed shoe, taken on line 77 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 8 is a transverse section of the same taken on line 88 of Fig. 9; I a

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the shoe in makingthe same, indicating the position of the laced front slit made on the top of the shoe;

Fig. 10 is a transverse section, taken on a position piece and of similar to Fig. 8, of the second type of shoe made with Fig. 13 is a side elevation of the lower portion of the shoe shown in Fig. 11; 4 s

Fig. 14 is a side elevation of a sandal in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 15 is a front elevation of the upperportion of said sandal shown in Fig. 14; s U I Fig. 16 is a side elevation showing means for producing the dome or convex surface'in Fig. 2;

Fig. 17 is a side elevation of a pan which may be used in which to rest the feet while making a cast according to the procedure of my Patent No. 2,177,304, but with: the'feet resting on the convex bottom 'of thepan for the negative mold or baflles for the upper part of the feet; Fig. 18 is a side elevation of a positive cast of a teenage childs foot, which from babyhood has always worn Murray molded shoes; I

Fig. 19 is a fragmental side elevation of a positivecast of a childs foot before having worn Murray shoes; I, J Fig. 20 is a fragmental side elevation of a positive cast of the same foot of the same child, as in Fig. 19, the cast having been made, however, after. wearing Murray molded shoes for about a year, or more; and Fig. 21 is a side elevation of a modifiedform of sandal. The shoe canbe made eitheron thefoot itself or'on an accurate cast thereof, having, in detail the samecon toursas the foot on which the shoe is to be worn; Pref: erably, however, the shoe is made onthe' footitself.

In my footwear, referring first to Figs 'l'to 9am 16, suchas a shoe 1, I utilize plastic materials which, forex ample, will have a maximum plasticitv For this pur-f latex which is.a water-suspension of self-vulcanizing artificial rubber known as neoprene," although latex made of natural rubber or any artificial rubber can be used herein. For the thickened latex herein I may use the thickened latex such as referred to in my .Patent .No. 2,568,291, which is made, .as stated therein, .by adding a thickener, such as methyl cellulose, .to .the-self-vulcanizing water-suspended neoprene latex generally sold under the name latex. Also,-ir1 carrying outmy process I may use as ,the .thinned latex, for example, the .said neoprene latex .unthickened, which is generally sold under the name "latex, and from which the said thickened latex is made, which is thinned as hereinafter referred to. By the term flatex merely I mean to refer to the ,said undiickened, unthinned latex.

Together with the latex, Imayalso employ sheet materials, such as felt and leather. For the felt Iprefer to use the cheaper ;gr.ades ,thereof, and which :are generally what is known as .fibre refuse or mill .ends, of one or more of the fibres, wool or cotton or rayon .or-other fibres. For the leather, -I.preferably employ a verysoft leather which is stretchable in various .directions, .as for instance goat leather or cape or glove leather, although other types of leather can .be used if desired.

For obtaining the shoe, I first produce a convex dome 2 of plaster ,of Paris, preferablyspherical in shape, as produced for instance by placing .a body of @the moldable plaster of Paris and water, .in .the .form of .a mud, on a square plywood plate 3, and then, while the plaster of Paris is soft, rotating, ,on a fixed axis, in a horizontal plane over the same a thin template 4lof plywood with an under-margin 5, preferably circular in shape,.and having a curvature made on about .aradius of from 2 to 4, but preferably about 34". Said dome is then allowed to harden. There is thus obtained a dome in the form of a hard convex mound 2 on which the person for whom the shoes are made is allowed to stand in the position, as shown in Fig.2, in which, by trial and-error, the feet are found to rest in the most compatible, that is to say most comfortable, position. This will be found to approximate the natural metatarsal curvature .of the underneath or plantar portion of each of the particular feet. For .convenience, these positions of the feet may be marked with outlines on .the dome 2. Thereupon, at about the said foot positions on the dome 2, rectangular pieces 6 and 7 of the felt, approximately in thickness, preferably obtained as split, with a smooth side .next to the foot, from felt /fi" thick, are placed over the said foot-positions and the said person is made to stand on the felts 6 and 7 over the said foot positions. Outlines and 11 are now made on said felts 6 and 7, extending around the foot but about 1" to 1 /2" beyond the foot margins, as shown in Fig; 3 .and by the interior outlines. Pieces 8 and 9 are now out out around the outlines -10 andll.

These felts 8 and 9 are now dipped in latex so .as to become saturated thereby and the excess latex is squeezed out by rolling the pieces 8 and 9 up, respectively, and wringing out the excess.

These pieces 8 and 9 are now replaced over the foot outlines previously made on the dome 2 and while the person stands on the said wet pieces 8 and 9 underneath the feet they are molded up around the margins of the feet with the smooth sides next to the feet. I also make from thicker pieces of felt similar to the felt used for pieces 8 and 9, about thick, two felt platforms 12, one for each .foot, by cutting out the same to accord with the marginal outline of the feet. One of the pieces '12 is placed under each of the pieces 8 and 9. Between each of these platforms 12 and the respective underneath pieces 8 and 9.1 produce pyramids by making a mud, of about the consistency of cottage cheese, from latex kneaded together with granules made by cutting into cubes strips of the said felt having a thickness .of 7 9" and a width of about the same dimension. By lifting one of the feet at a time I then press beneath each of .the underneath pieces 8 and 9, a body of this mud and then press the felt and mud up into the pyramid or toe cavity which is located at the rear of the toes. Also, it will be understood that, if desired, some of this felt mud 13, about /s" thick, could be spread over the whole under-surface of the underneath pieces 8 and 9.

While the underneath pieces 8 and 9 are still very wet with the latex and having pyramids 14 partially formed thereon, the platform pieces 12 are placed over the foot outlines on the dome 2, said platforms having had thickened latex put thereon, followed by said plaster of Paris dust, and with further thickened latex on top of the plaster of Paris. Then the feet, with .the underneath pieces 3, 9 and pyramids 14 thereon, are placed over the platforms 12, preferably while the said person is seated, the weight of the legs being allowed to bear on the feet which now rest on the underneath pieces 8 and 9, the pyramids 14 and 15 and the platforms 12. As a result the pyramids 14 and 15 become formed more completely and attain a sharp, accurate curvature of the respective concavities at the restr ct the toes. Also, some of the felt mud may be pressed ,in around the marginal curves between the pieces 8 and 9 and the platform pieces 12. Next, .I .trirn down the edges of the felts .8 and 9 to ap' proximately the under-cut lines of the :respective feet. The platform felts 12 can now be molded by the ifingers around the edges of the feet, while still very plastic.

There are two alternative types of shoes which may be made, each of which types can be made in the form of a shoe or sandal, as desired.

For obtaining the first type of shoe, as in Figs. 1 ,to 9, I provide a square heel piece 16 of the i thick felt for each of the feet. These heel pieces 16, which are about 3" square, are then dipped into latex, rolled up and wrung out to remove excess latex. l thereupon apply the said heel pieces 16 while wet, with the smooth side towards the heel of the foot, after having applied thickened latex followed by powdered plaster of Paris to the rear heel portions .of the underneath pieces 8 and 9 which are carried by the feet. These heel pieces 16 are then pressed into the adjacent portions of the underneath pieces 8 and 9 by the rear portions of the feet of the person for whom ;the shoes .are made.

Next, I provide a felt cover :piece 17 for each of the feet, made of the said thick felt, cut out so as to have the smooth side thereof next to the foot. These fell cover pieces 17 are then dipped in latex, rolled up and wrung out to remove the excess latex. Thereupon, I apply all around the margin of the turned-up underneath pieces 8 and 9 and to the edges of the platforms 12, and so as to extend all around the foot very slightly above said pieces 8 and 9, onto the foot itself, some of the thickened latex followed by powdered plaster of Paris, and lay :onto each foot and its turned-up underneath pieces 8 and 9 its cover piece 17 while wet, as above, while pressing the "same into place with the fingers. If desired, some :small pieces of dry cotton could be placed from above into the crevices between the toes up to partly fill, to just below the upper level of :the toes, the cavities between the-same before applyingthe said cover pieces .17. With aithin spatula, or other tool, the outline ofthe welt all around the 'shoe and the recesses-between the respective toes :can be brought out or emphasized by pressing the cover pieces .into the same with the tool. .I now make-an abutting joint 18 at the rear -in eachfelt cover piece 17, but not in the middle of the heel, as shown in Fig. 6.

I next make a spacing element 19 for each of the shoes out of the thick felt rectangular in shape and dip it-into latex, =ro'll the-same up and wring it out .to eliminate excess latex. To the upper surface of the spacingelement 19 I apply thickened latex, followed by powdered plaster of Paris, a'fterwhichthere is again applied thickened latex. I then place the spacing element 19 .onthe dome 21nd apply the foot, with the partly-completed shoe thereon, :to the spacing element '-19 "until the spacing element has adhered to its platform 12..- After this, the foot together with the shoe is raised and the spacing element 19 is trimmed oft laterally around the margin of the shoe. The foot and the shoe are now put back on the dome 2 and a cover piece of leather shaped like the felt cover piece 17, is prepared by dipping it in thin latex and thereafter applying the latex which has not been thinned, as set forth in detail in my Patent No. 2,493,310. Then, thickened latex, followed by powdered plaster of Paris, is applied all over the felt cover piece 17 and the leather cover piece 20 is placed thereover and molded into place, with the fingers and a spatula, all over the shoe. A leather cover piece seam 21 adjacent to a vertical cord 22, with one leather margin overlapping the cord, is made at the rear of the shoe in the center of the heel. The leather cover piece 20 now extends down far enough to cover the lowerv edge of the platform 12 and the spacing element 19.

The said person now stands in the shoe on the dome 2, as .above referred to, for about one minute, in order to form the foot contours against the pyramid 14 and the other parts of the shoe. A slanting slit 23, as shown in Figs. 1 and 9, is then made down the front of the shoe and the foot is taken out of the shoe. Thereupon, the shoe is allowed to dry for about twelve hours under an electric fan. The spacing element 19 will have become considerably hardened by this time, and has at its bottom surface'a concave curvature transversely and longitudinally substantially matching the spherical concave curvature of the dome 2 where the particular shoe has rested while being made.

.The marginal edges beneath the lower surface of the spacingelement 19 may now be ground off partly or entirely, as indicated in Figs. 7 and 8, at the sides, front and rear, wherever necessary to produce a less concave surface or even a substantially fiat surface on the underside of the spacing element 19. On the said flat surface beneath the spacing element 19 there may be applied a sole 23a, for example the terry cloth sole set forth in my Patent No. 2,448,455. However, other types of soles may be applied instead, if desired, as for instance a sole made of a fine neoprene sponge with microscopic holes therein, or any other rubber or artificial rubber soling, as desired. The slit 23 may be widened, if desired, into a U-shaped cut-out 24 and may be provided with the usual eyelets and laces. In applying the neoprene sponge sole,

adequate bonding can be readily obtained with the aid of a tacky neoprene cement. Afterward, the shoe may be cleaned out inside to remove any particles of latex adhering thereto, with the aid of power-driven rotary brushes.

Instead of the said first type of shoe, 9. second type of shoe, referring particularly to Figs. 10 to 13, may be made in which case the same procedure as above will be followed up to and including applying the leather cover piece 20, but not including applying the spacing element 19. In this instance, there is applied to the platform 12, which has the concave shape derived from the convex dome 2, a neoprene sponge rubber sole 25, of the kind above referred to, with the neoprene tacky cement. The underneath surface of the neoprene sole 25 will likewise have a concave surface similar to the concave surface of the platform 12. To adjust it to the needs of the particular person who is to wear the shoes, I may provide and fasten to the bottom of the neoprene sole 25, with the tacky cement, a dart-shapd longitudinal narrow plate of the neoprene soling 26 and immediately at the rear of the plate 26 I apply crosswise thereof, in the same way, a transverse plate 27 extending completely across the shoe. The underneath margins of the plate 26 may be tapered slightly, for example, at the front end 28 of the plate 26 and the plate 27 may be likewise tapered at the two marginal sides of the plate 27 so as to have the over-all combined undersurface of the plates 26 and 27 less concaveor even approximately in a flat plane together with a rear end 31 of the heel. Additional plates 29 and 30 may be optionally added, the latter plate 30 being tapered at its two sides, according to the wishes of the particular person. This may be accomplished by grinding off one or more of the marginal portions of said plates 26, 27, 29 and 30, for the same purpose.

If desired, either of said above two types of shoes may be made into sandal form, as shown in Figs. 14 and 15. In that event,.instead of having single cover pieces of felt and leather 17 and 20, a front cover piece 32 of leather and a rear cover piece 33 of leather are prepared in the same way and applied in a similar manner, but so as to produce marginal abutting joints 34 and 35 on opposite sides of the shoe. In this instance, furthermore, there can be at the two sides of the shoe, V-shaped cut-outs 36 and 37 atthe place where the shoe bends, which may be bridged by thongs 38 and 39 passing through eyelets 40 and 41 at the two sidesof the cut-outs 36, 37. Also, in the case of this sandal type, the rear leather cover piece 33 will extend upwardly to form an enclosing strip 42 around the ankle above the ankle joint, the two ends of which will be capable of being fastened together by means of a looped thong 43 and a thong 44 having a cleat 45, the thongs 43 and 44 being passed through a number of eyelets 46 and 47. Also, in the instance of this sandal type, beneath the front cover piece 32 and the rear cover piece 33, respectively, there will be applied felt cover pieces 48 and 49, prepared as in the case of .the cover piece 17, shaped substantially like the leather cover pieces 32 and 33, but with lateral abutting edges 50 placed rcarwardly of the abutting edges 34 and 35, of the leather cover pieces 32 and 33.

As shown in Fig. 17, if desired, in making any or all of the shoes and sandals herein above referred to, instead of using the plywood board having thereon the plaster of Paris dome 2, I may make and utilize for the same purpose a circular pan or tray of sheet metal having an approximately cylindrical side wall 51 of any desired height, shallow or deep, provided with a convex bottom 52, and having any of the above mentioned spherical curvatures described above, for the chosen foot positions.

Furthermore, this pan 51 may be used for producing an accurate, correct cast, of each foot, on which any of the shoes or sandals above described can be made. In making the said cast substantially the same procedure can be followed as described in my Patent No. 2,177,304, above referred to, except that in making the initial negative cast of the upper part of the foot or battle, the foot will rest on a dome-shaped curvature 52 of the pan 51, having the same curvature as on the dome 2, instead of on the arbitrary support in the form of a lump of clay" referred to in said patent. (See particularly Figs. 2'and 3 of said patent.) For making the lower part of the negative cast a fiat bottom pan, as in said patent (see Figs. 5

and 6 of said patent) is utilized so as to form said lower part of the negative cast against the previously produced baffle, that is to say negative cast, of the upper part of the foot made while the foot is being tested on said surface 52. A positive cast 53 may be made from the negative cast formed by fastening together with any desired cement the two halves of the negative cast which have thus been obtained. The procedure of pouring, etc., for obtaining the said positive cast, may be as described in the said Patent No. 2,177,304.

In Fig. 18 I have shown the cast 53 thus obtained from a foot of a child about twelve years of age, who has always worn molded Murray shoes beginning from early babyhood, said cast 53 showing an over-all spherical concave curvature 54 beneath the foot extending from the heel 55 to and including the big toe, which latter is even below the level of the big toe joint 57, and located in the line of said spherical curvature. This tendency of the foot to adjust itself into this concave curvature is confirmed as seen from the cast 58 of a childs foot, Fig. 19, before wearing Murray shoes, as compared with a cast 59 of the same foot after having worn molded Murray shoes for more than a year. It will be noted that in Fig. 20, as in Fig. 18, the big toe 60 has a position below the level of the big toe oint 61 so that the heel 62, the big toe joint 61 and'the big toe-60 are all located in the line of a concave spherical curve, as in Fig. 18. This is not so, 'however, in the cast in Fig. 19, of a foot which has not worn the molded Murray type of shoe but which for a number of years has been wearing the usual kind of shoes made in stock sizes and shapes for wear by the public, not matching or fitting the contours of the particular foot on-which'the shoe is worn.

In Fig. 21 l have shown .a modified form of sandal which maybe made substantiallylikethe sandal as shown in Fig. 14 except that in this {instance the rear leather coverpiece 33' does not extendupwardlyaround the ankle above the ankle joint. Instead thereof, I provide an ankle band 63 having an outer leather layer 64 and an inner layer of felt 65 which are prepared and applied around 'the ankle in the same manner as the enclosing strip 42 the ankle, referred to in connection with Fig. 14,

and which has the looped thongs 43 and 44, as well as the Clean 45, as in the case of the said strip 42, passing through the eyelets 46 and 47. Also, in this instance, as shown in Fig. 21, there is provided on each side of the foot, passing approximately over the ankle joint, athong 66 which extends through an eyelet 67 in the rear cover piece 33 and an eyelet 68 in the ankle band 63, a knot 69 being made in the thong 66 after 'taking'up the slack in the said thong. Each thong 66 is thus located in a position in which its length is not changed by the bending of the foot'while walking, etc.

Also, it will be understood that other sandals or shoes can be made following any of the above described techniques, by producing sandals or-shoes, for instance, in accordance with the processes set forth in any of my previous Letters Patent or applications, filed June 30, 1953, such as Patent No. 2,606,333, filed January 4, 1952, now Patent No. 2,663,887, granted December 29, 1953, and applications Ser. Nos. ,365,093,'268;03"6,filed January 24, 1952, now Patent No. 2,663,887, granted December 29, 1953, and 296,826, filed July 2, 1952.

While I have described my invention above in detail I wish it to be understood that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the same.

1 claim:

'1. article comprising a shoe upper provided with a footsupporting sheet of set plastic material, said sheet having 'an inner spherical convex foot-receiving curvature on one side thereof and on the other side a spherical concave single curvature extending from end to end and side to side of saidsheet.

2. An article for each of two feet comprising a shoe upper provided'w'ith a foot-supporting sheet of set plastic material,;said sheet having an inner spherical convex footreceiving curvature on one side thereof and on the other side a spherical concave single curvature extending from end to end and side to side longitudinally and transversely of said sheet, said curvatures being spherical, the said curvatures for the respective two feet having transversely upwardly directed'inclinations towards each other.

3. An article for each of two feet comprising a shoe upper provided with a foot-supporting sheet of set plastic material, said sheet having an inner spherical convex foot-receiving curvature on one side thereof passing approximately through the under surface of the heel, toe joint and big toe of said foot and on the other side a spherical concave single curvature extending from end to end and side to side longitudinally and transversely of said sheet, said curvatures being spherical, the said curvatures for the respective two feet having transversly up wardly directed inclinations towards each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,962,526 Riddell June 12, 1934 2,071,431 .Riddell Feb. 23, 1937 2,177,304 Murray Oct. 24, 1939 2,332,000 Murray Oct. 19, 1943 2,530,737 Sherwin Nov. 21, 1950 2,606,333 Murray Aug. 12, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 584,489 France Nov. 21, 1924 613,037 Great Britain Nov. 22, 1948 866,761 France June 9, 1941 

